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How To Get the New Android KitKat Keyboard Now

Android KitKat is upon us but, unless you have a Nexus 5 on your hands, you’ll have to wait until you can play with it — details about the new Android version here. Still, you can already install the new Google keyboard, to almost any Android device. Here’s how to do it.

Now, before doing anything else, make sure that your Android device is allowed to install apps from unknown sources. If you’re not sure if it can do that, here’s how to find out or enable the option.

Now, run the APK file you’ve copied to your Droid after you’ve found it using a file manager. I personally use ASTRO File Manager, but that’s entirely up to you.

After the installation process is done, you will be taken through a very basic tutorial which will help you set up the new Google keyboard.

First, it will help you enable the Google Keyboard to run on your Android device. Just tapping the buttons Google has provided will send you to the appropriate settings.

Next, you’ll be making sure that the new Google Keyboard is your active input method.

After you’re done with this last step, your new Google Keyboard is all set up and you’ll get a confirmation message which will inform you, looking like the one in the screenshot below.

If you’re using a different language than the one your phone uses, tap Configure additional languages and add the language you want. Since the keyboard is a predictive one, it’s essential that the appropriate dictionary is selected.

With this last step out of the way, you can go ahead and enjoy the new keyboard. As you can see, it’s not very different from the old version in terms of look.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the trail your finger leaves when you swipe to write a word is no longer blue – Google has used grey for it and it seems less distracting to me. Apart from that, prediction seems to work very well.

You can also type words without taking your finger off the screen. Just move your finger across the space bar when you’re done with a specific word.